What evidence exists regarding anchored instruction? What are some important nuances of the research that are pertinent to your practice? What further inquiries or questions does the research reported in the articles raise for you (e.g. regarding evaluation, professional development, disabilities and/or the content area you teach or would like to promote etc)? Finally, in what ways might a current technology for math (Eg. Mathletics, CTC Math, IXL, Dragonbox, or others) address in part this question?
I might be dating myself, but I was the teacher who consistently rolled the TV and VCR into the classroom to set it up before my students came into the class. It was not uncommon for students to give a fist pump and a cheer when they saw the TV was on with the words pause on the bottom of the screen. Walking into a classroom today, most elementary lessons, have an anticipatory set that includes some form of digital video to introduce or support a concept. Which could be from YouTube, Discovery Education, Vimeo, other streaming application. Barron, L., et al. (1993) suggests the use of video technology has the potential to reinforce context and facilitates active learning (p. 475). Moreover, video can be as good as an instructor in communicating facts or demonstrating procedures to assist in mastery learning where a student can view complex clinical or mechanical procedures as many times as they need to. Furthermore, the interactive features of modern web-based media players can be used to promote ‘active viewing’ approaches with students (Galbraith, 2004).
According to Alberta Mathematics Program of Studies (Alberta Education.2016). “Students learn by attaching meaning to what they do, and they need to construct their own meaning of mathematics. This meaning is best developed when learners encounter mathematical experiences that proceed from the simple to the complex and from the concrete to the abstract… At all levels, students benefit from working with a variety of materials, tools and contexts when constructing meaning about new mathematical ideas. Meaningful student discussions provide essential links among concrete, pictorial and symbolic representations of mathematical concepts” (p. 1). With class sizes reaching 25 or more at the elementary level, it is especially difficult to make an impact for those students with learning difficulties. Hasselbring, T. S., Lott, A. C., & Zydney, J. M. (2005) suggested anchored instruction for all students to support the transfer of knowledge to a variety of math problems. The problem lies in differentiating these instructional videos to best meet the ability levels for each individual learner.
In my opinion, such technological applications like Mathletics has the capability to provide individualized instruction, simplified exemplars and informative videos to enhance math achievement. More importantly, the learning is contextualized through their engaging realistic instruction to reinforce the learning process.
References:
Alberta Education.(2016). Mathematics (K–9)2007 (Updated 2016)[Program of Studies]. [Edmonton], Canada.
Barron, L., Bransford, J., Goin, L., Goldman, E., Goldman, S., Hasselbring, T., … & Vye, N. (1993). The Jasper experiment: using video to furnish real-world problem-solving contexts. Arithmetic Teacher, 40(8), 474-479.
Galbraith, J., ( 2004), ‘Active viewing: and oxymoron in video-based instruction?’, Society for Applied Learning Technologies Conference, designer.50g.com/docs/Salt_2004.pdf
Hasselbring, T. S., Lott, A. C., & Zydney, J. M. (2005). Technology-supported math instruction for students with disabilities: Two decades of research and development. Retrieved December, 12, 2013 from Google Scholar as a pdf.
Mary,
Mathletics sounds like a phenomenal platform to engage students in authentic, situated, anchored learning. With all the emphasis on VR and simulations these days, it’s hard to believe that aren’t more programs that are using the technology to create environments for students to play, manipulate, and solve real problems.
When I was watching the videos of Jasper, I just kept thinking of how impactful the program could be with a modern-day simulation. As it stands right now, it’s simply an illustrated/animated set of word problems. Yes, students have to figure out their own variables and data, not just plug in the data given, but at the same time, strip the video portion away, and you are left basically with spoken word problems.
So, why not elevate that same platform? Create a world online where a problem exists and students, through manipulating and coding, have the chance to experiment and test their theories in real time. You want to know if the ultralight has enough gas? Well, plug in your data and hit play while you watch the ultralight fly using real-world physics and laws. It didn’t make it? Go back to the drawing board and work the problem again, or better yet, use the simulation to test multiple theories!
It seems like, without this sort of system in place, the video leans almost more towards a gimmick. Yes, it is enhancing their engagement, but it’s not doing much more pedagogically than paper could do. In my eyes, that’s not a solid use of technology. Technology should transform the learning if it’s to be valuable, not merely replace something that already exists.
-Jonathan-
Jonathan,
Thanks for your posting! I found your comment “with all the emphasis on VR and simulations these days, it’s hard to believe that aren’t more programs that are using the technology to create environments for students to play, manipulate, and solve real problems.” resonated with me and I could not agree with you more.
I am no expert in this area! I know Tracy Evans (below) and her 565M group did an excellent job exploring AR/VR and how it can leverage education in support teaching and learning. I will not share that site, without her permission. It is also important to keep in mind theoretical foundations when considering AR, VR, Anchored Instruction, etc. as the emphasis is the constructivist approach. Along with any interactive technological tools, teachers should encourage students to work collaboratively and situationally to allow learning to transfer into their long-term memory.
I agree that video can be a great hook for engaging students and providing some context for student learning. With advancements in video now it’s even easier to find a video that supports classroom work or for a teacher to easily produce their own video.
I am not completely sold on the effectiveness of mathletics and other solutions of this type. As a teacher, I have introduced them in my classroom and sent them home for homework. I saw students were practicing and mastering skills and thought it was an effective tool. I did notice that the students who tended to be strong in maths were the same ones who chose to use mathletics at home. As a parent of a child who has gaps in his understanding of maths and for whom we are trying to cover those gaps, I have found programs like IXL and mathletics to be extremely detrimental to his progress. There is simply not enough context provided in the “lesson” and when the student misses the question they are simply cycled back through the same questions until they get it without the instruction being adapted to the learner. There is too much text and not enough audio to be engaging for kids. They just click through without getting the instruction. I think ideally these programs would have to be far more adaptive than they currently are in order to be effective. Speaking from personal experience, Mathletics is a good way to kill any joy a struggling learner has left in math.
Hello Tracy,
As we learned anchored instruction activities should be designed to connect the content with the authentic context. These online programs can enhance learning by providing specific scenarios or situations based on the previous knowledge they probably have. The problem I am seeing for you, and many teachers, is that these types of programs are used as a stand-alone teaching tool without opportunities for students to engage with one another to solidify their knowledge. For me, Mathletics time is very busy, as I am closely monitoring their progress and conferencing with them if I see they are having difficulties with a concept. As well, I usually pop in and out of the groups when they are participating in Live Mathletics (math facts), even when they are at home. 🙂
I am not here to “sell you on Mathleticss”, my point is that teachers should be using Mathleticss or any online learning application, as a situated learning tool and not a “babysitting” tool, as I have seen in many classrooms. Students should be following up with the teacher and even have math groups around these topics online which allow students to construct their knowledge and recognize any misconceptions.